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Matthew 13
Living Bible
Matthew 13
Living Bible
13 Later that same day, Jesus left the house and went down to the shore, 2-3 where an immense crowd soon gathered. He got into a boat and taught from it while the people listened on the beach. He used many illustrations such as this one in his sermon:
“A farmer was sowing grain in his fields. 4 As he scattered the seed across the ground, some fell beside a path, and the birds came and ate it. 5 And some fell on rocky soil where there was little depth of earth; the plants sprang up quickly enough in the shallow soil, 6 but the hot sun soon scorched them and they withered and died, for they had so little root. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns choked out the tender blades. 8 But some fell on good soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as he had planted. 9 If you have ears, listen!”
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you always use these hard-to-understand illustrations?”[a]
11 Then he explained to them that only they were permitted to understand about the Kingdom of Heaven, and others were not.
12-13 “For to him who has will more be given,” he told them, “and he will have great plenty; but from him who has not, even the little he has will be taken away. That is why I use these illustrations, so people will hear and see but not understand.[b]
14 “This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah:
‘They hear, but don’t understand; they look, but don’t see! 15 For their hearts are fat and heavy, and their ears are dull, and they have closed their eyes in sleep, 16 so they won’t see and hear and understand and turn to God again, and let me heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17 Many a prophet and godly man has longed to see what you have seen and hear what you have heard, but couldn’t.
18 “Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer planting grain: 19 The hard path where some of the seeds fell represents the heart of a person who hears the Good News about the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it; then Satan[c] comes and snatches away the seeds from his heart. 20 The shallow, rocky soil represents the heart of a man who hears the message and receives it with real joy, 21 but he doesn’t have much depth in his life, and the seeds don’t root very deeply, and after a while when trouble comes, or persecution begins because of his beliefs, his enthusiasm fades, and he drops out. 22 The ground covered with thistles represents a man who hears the message, but the cares of this life and his longing for money choke out God’s Word, and he does less and less for God. 23 The good ground represents the heart of a man who listens to the message and understands it and goes out and brings thirty, sixty, or even a hundred others into the Kingdom.”[d]
24 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer sowing good seed in his field; 25 but one night as he slept, his enemy came and sowed thistles among the wheat. 26 When the crop began to grow, the thistles grew too.
27 “The farmer’s men came and told him, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that choice seed is full of thistles!’
28 “‘An enemy has done it,’ he exclaimed.
“‘Shall we pull out the thistles?’ they asked.
29 “‘No,’ he replied. ‘You’ll hurt the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and I will tell the reapers to sort out the thistles and burn them, and put the wheat in the barn.’”
31-32 Here is another of his illustrations: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a tiny mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds but becomes the largest of plants, and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter.”
33 He also used this example:
“The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a woman making bread. She takes a measure of flour and mixes in the yeast until it permeates every part of the dough.”
34-35 Jesus constantly used these illustrations when speaking to the crowds. In fact, because the prophets said that he would use so many, he never spoke to them without at least one illustration. For it had been prophesied, “I will talk in parables; I will explain mysteries hidden since the beginning of time.”[e] 36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, he went into the house. His disciples asked him to explain to them the illustration of the thistles and the wheat.
37 “All right,” he said, “I am[f] the farmer who sows the choice seed. 38 The field is the world, and the seed represents the people of the Kingdom; the thistles are the people belonging to Satan. 39 The enemy who sowed the thistles among the wheat is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.
40 “Just as in this story the thistles are separated and burned, so shall it be at the end of the world: 41 I[g] will send my angels, and they will separate out of the Kingdom every temptation and all who are evil, 42 and throw them into the furnace and burn them. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the godly shall shine as the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Let those with ears, listen!
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure a man discovered in a field. In his excitement, he sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field—and get the treasure, too!
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 He discovered a real bargain—a pearl of great value—and sold everything he owned to purchase it!
47-48 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by a fisherman—he casts a net into the water and gathers in fish of every kind, valuable and worthless. When the net is full, he drags it up onto the beach and sits down and sorts out the edible ones into crates and throws the others away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world—the angels will come and separate the wicked people from the godly, 50 casting the wicked into the fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
52 Then he added, “Those experts in Jewish law who are now my disciples have double treasures—from the Old Testament as well as from the New!”[h]
53-54 When Jesus had finished giving these illustrations, he returned to his hometown, Nazareth in Galilee,[i] and taught there in the synagogue and astonished everyone with his wisdom and his miracles.
55 “How is this possible?” the people exclaimed. “He’s just a carpenter’s son, and we know Mary his mother and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. 56 And his sisters—they all live here. How can he be so great?” 57 And they became angry with him!
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country, and among his own people!” 58 And so he did only a few great miracles there, because of their unbelief.
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:10 Why do you always use these hard-to-understand illustrations? is implied.
- Matthew 13:12 so people will hear and see but not understand. Those who were receptive to spiritual truth understood the illustrations. To others they were only stories without meaning.
- Matthew 13:19 Satan, literally, “the evil.”
- Matthew 13:23 brings thirty, sixty, or even a hundred others into the Kingdom, literally, “produces a crop many times greater than the amount planted—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much.”
- Matthew 13:34 beginning of time, see Psalm 78:2.
- Matthew 13:37 I am, literally, “the Son of Man is.”
- Matthew 13:41 I, literally, “The Son of Man.”
- Matthew 13:52 from the Old Testament as well as from the New, literally, “brings back out of his treasure things both new and old.” The paraphrase is of course highly anachronistic!
- Matthew 13:53 Nazareth in Galilee, implied.
Matthew 13
New International Version
Matthew 13
New International Version
The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)(C)
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house(D) and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat(E) and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred,(F) sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”(G)
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven(H) has been given to you,(I) but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.(J) 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.(K)
14 In them is fulfilled(L) the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a](M)
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.(N) 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see(O) but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom(P) and does not understand it, the evil one(Q) comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.(R) 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth(S) choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”(T)
The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(U) a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”(V)
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast(W)(X)
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(Y) a mustard seed,(Z) which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”(AA)
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like(AB) yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[b] of flour(AC) until it worked all through the dough.”(AD)
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.(AE) 35 So was fulfilled(AF) what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”[c](AG)
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable(AH) of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.(AI) 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,(AJ) 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest(AK) is the end of the age,(AL) and the harvesters are angels.(AM)
40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man(AN) will send out his angels,(AO) and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(AP) 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun(AQ) in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.(AR)
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like(AS) treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.(AT)
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like(AU) a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like(AV) a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds(AW) of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous(AX) 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(AY)
51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
A Prophet Without Honor(AZ)
53 When Jesus had finished these parables,(BA) he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue,(BB) and they were amazed.(BC) “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?(BD) Isn’t his mother’s(BE) name Mary, and aren’t his brothers(BF) James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense(BG) at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”(BH)
58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:15 Isaiah 6:9,10 (see Septuagint)
- Matthew 13:33 Or about 27 kilograms
- Matthew 13:35 Psalm 78:2
Living Bible (TLB)
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